As a result of Hurricane Sandy, Fisker Automotive lost 320 Karmas to either flooding or fires on the east coast.

According to Roger Ormisher, a Fisker spokesperson, 320 Karmas parked on a New Jersey port were destroyed during Hurricane Sandy last week. This meant a $32 million loss for the company.

Of the 320 Karmas, one had a short circuit that caught fire and due to high winds, 15 other Karmas caught fire as well. The rest of the Fisker plug-ins parked along the port were damaged by floodwaters.

These Karmas were shipped from Finland and destined for U.S. dealers. Ormisher said there may be a temporary shortage of certain color or trim options for the Karma, and that he doubts this loss will impact the price of the Karma in the U.S.

This year has been quite a rollercoaster ride for Fisker. The automaker had two incidents where Karma vehicles caught fire while in the possession of a customer. One occurred in May 2012, when a Karma plug-in was responsible for a house fire in Houston, and the second occurred in August 2012, where a Karma parked in a Woodside, California grocery store parking lot had went up in flames.

Just last month, Consumer Reportsflunked the Karma for its design and execution, saying that the vehicle has a cramped interior, limited visibility, awkward access and poorly-designed dashboard controls.

It's sad that this story fails to even note that Fiskers Karma battery supplier A123 filed for Bankruptcy October 16th.

I think this company could have had a better shot at success if they had a better battery supplier. High-end EV cars are still in the product innovation stage, so I think potential buyers need to fully accept/understand they are buying products still just getting past the development/testing stage.

Anyone interested in an EV car, but not willing to take the risk needs to hold off until the product life-cycle is in the mid-stages.

I do not think other easily viable alternatives should continue to be overlooked by the current administration. Biodiesel is easily produced by re-purposing the millions of gallons of used cooking oil from american restaurants. Modern Diesel technology is far superior than the years past. VW's TDI rocks IMO.

It can be so frustrating when higher ups cant see/choose not to see how easy/quick some solutions can be implemented and assist in truly eliminating the US dependence on Arab oil.

Since the election is history, now we get to see what new regulations and treaties (by-passes many of our balanced government processes) will surface and that have been in the planning all along. Careful what you wish for.

It was a joke. I was intentionally missing the point of the post, and pointing out that naval vessels are not closely related to automobiles, and hopefully creating a mental picture of the US Naval command spontaneously combusting the first time they were introduced to water. Sorry.